Beneath a Blue Umbrella

by Jack Prelutsky, Garth Williams (Illustrator)

From the puppies in Philadelphia to the piglets in Wichita, west to the Great Salt Lake (where the big green frog lives), and south to the Mardi Gras celebration -- here are poems and pictures for everyone to love. Ride a Purple Pelican confirmed Jack Prelutsky and Garth Williams's place in the hearts (and on the tongues) of young Americans. And Beneath a Blue Umbrella is a worthy successor. Here is a book for adults to share with children -- and for children to share with adults and with each other.

Genres: Poetry, Picture Books, Childrens, Nursery Rhymes, Animals

64 pages, Hardcover

First published April 27, 1990

About the author

Jack Prelutsky is an American poet. He attended New York public schools, and later the High School of Music and Art and Hunter College. Prelutsky, who has also worked as a busboy, furniture mover, folk singer, and cab driver, claims that he hated poetry in grade school because of the way it was taught. He is the author of more than 30 poetry collections including Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep< and A Pizza the Size of the Sun. He has also compiled countless children's anthologies comprised of poems of others'. Jack Prelutsky was married to Von Tre Venefue, a woman he had met in France. They divorced in 1995, but Jack remarried. He currently lives in Washington state with his wife, Carolyn. He befriended a gay poet named Espiritu Salamanca in 1997 and both now work together in writing poems and stories for children and adults alike.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, I just cannot appreciate Prelutsky the way others do. There's nothing subtle, resonant, or memorable about these verses... nothing that I would give the label 'poetry' to.

I can say that the one that begins with "Jiggity jumpity frog..." would make a good nursery rhyme, with frog and jog, mice and rice. I'd choose it before some of the traditional ones that are bloody or too obscure. And though Garth Williams doesn't do people nearly as well as he does animals, imo, and therefore I cannot recommend this book based on the fact that he illustrated it, I do like the picture for "Jennifer Juniper...."

[Lidija · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book of rhymes is clearly inspired by Mother Goose, but with a conscious effort to be American. My girls love finding the places mentioned on the map of the US. Read this after your kids have a good familiarity with Mother Goose.

These rhymes do not have the snarkiness that Jack Prelutsky's poems for older children sometimes have. And Garth Williams is a favorite illustrator, of course.

[Kendle · Rating 1 out of 5]

you have to pay so much money 49$

[Anne Exler · Rating 2 out of 5]

Part of my Garth Williams collection. The poems were meh and a few of the illustrations were downright creepy, but it was a nice change to see so much lush color.

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute rhyme for very young readers, and some lovely illustrations

[Jordan Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book would be good for grades pre k- 2nd Grade.
No awards

Beneath the Blue Umbrella is a Nursery rhyme book with many different nursery rhymes. There is a rhyme on one page and an illustration on the next. They are relatively short rhymes simple for young children.

I really enjoyed this book. It has a lot of great illustrations that always corresponds with the rhyme.
They are great short rhymes for younger children, but can also be used with some older students.

I would use this with students in the classroom when working on rhyming, Site word recognition, and even working on phonetic.

[Judy Lindow · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be great for a kinder library. Although there were some poems I want to copy like: Underneath a Blue Umbrella, Jiggity, and Jennifer Juniper - much of the book seems dated (pub. 1990). One critic writes about an earlier JP book, that he is like a 'modern-day Mother Goose'. The truth is that Mother Goose doesn't engage kids past preschool much anymore. Times are a changin'. Even though Garth Williams illustrations evoke all sorts of nostalgia (remember the Little House Books, Charlotte's Web, Cricket in Times Square) in many of the schools today, with a diverse demographic, some of the poems won't make cultural sense to some.

In spite of giving out the age of this book, and criticizing, I'll confess that K-3 kids and I have been enjoying the book title's poem for the last month. None of the kids have seen a 'Melon Seller' and they still liked the poem. I guess it's really hard to 'date' silly with kids. After we review what 'sumptuous' means, they all feel proud about how easy it is to learn a poem, and have fun with rhyme. P.S. Having a good silly poem memorized for the class is always a good hook for a poetry writing lesson.

[Shannon McGee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack Prelutsky is king of children’s poetry that rhymes. The poetry is nicely paired with Garth Williams illustrations of young kids, animals and whatever else is described.

The poetry is really adorable the rhyming of each poem just flows together as if the words were just meant to shine together.

The first couple of poems are cute and somewhere in the middle of the book they become less imaginative and exciting.

I think children will appreciate the poems and there rhymes. I prefer the poetry about fantasy animals like dragons which were featured in another book of poems by Prelutsky called The Dragons Are Singing Tonight.

[Sarah Fitzsimmons · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book has many different little stories. It's a good book to have if you are teaching a lesson on rhyming. The illustrations were fairly well drawn and they did portray what the author was talking about accurately. I do not think that I would have this book in my classroom. I do not like how it didn't have a plot what-so-ever. It was, in fact, interesting in that on every page you didn't know what was coming next, but other then that, I found it to be pretty boring.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had this as a kid, so there's nostalgia there, and I'm glad to have found it. But as an adult, just reviewing these poems ... I don't get them and I don't think they're good. Somewhere there's a reference to "today's Mother Goose," and I feel like that pinpoints the issue. Mother Goose rhymes are not literary treasures. They're nostalgic treasures. So you take away the nostalgia and you have pointless, strange little poems. So that's what this is.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ultimate Reading Challenge 2017. A book with pictures.

Illustrated by Garth Williams. If this one had a theme, I didn't find it. There were several poems that mention various places, but this was not true of all the poems. I didn't like this book as well as some others.

[Friend of Pixie]

Why: A book that combines Prelutsky's humor with Garth William's charming art? How could I resist?

[Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm reading some children's books by Jack Prelutsky and others. I find this poetry for children interesting and also beautiful.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay

[Kristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beneath a Blue Umbrella is an anthology full of poems that kids and adults alike will love. They are everything from simple and sweet to cute and creative. A few of my favorite poems include “I Had a Little Secret,” “Jennifer Jupiter,” “Tippity Toppity,” and “I Went to Wisconsin.” In “I Had a Little Secret,” the past tenseness of “had” is quite important. In “Jennifer Jupiter,” Jennifer Jupiter is not your average girl. In “Tippity Toppity,” Roy is an upside down boy who lives in an upside down world. In “I Went to Wisconsin,” the main character’s trip to Wisconsin is going to look very different next time around. Each poem is perfect for a fun reading day with kids.
Beneath a Blue Umbrella is quite adorable from beginning to end. A picture of a mule, an elephant, a bear, and a hippopotamus all greet the reader on the front cover, while a goat, a mouse, a frog, a dog, and a monkey all bid the reader farewell on the back cover. Each of the poems are well written, and the illustrations do a wonderful job of matching the poems. The poems dance between the border of fiction and fantasy. Some, like “Jiggity Jumpity Frog,” describing an animal marriage, while others, like “John Poole Left Sedalia,” simply describe the journey of a man riding a mule. The wide variety of colors used can really help to keep the reader engaged, especially if the reader is young or is a child being read to. Seeing how simple the language is though, I do not doubt that a child would have fun reading these short, sweet poems to an adult, a friend, or a sibling. Beneath a Blue Umbrella is a great introduction to poems, rhyming, and even just reading in general.